STARKVILLE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Rudi Johnson and Auburn came
in red-hot but were stopped cold by Missisippi State's defense.

Johnson was limited to 27 yards on 18 carries while Dicenzo
Miller ground out 136 yards as No. 20 Mississippi State took
control of the Southeastern Conference's West Division with a
17-10 victory over No. 13 Auburn.

"Our front guys did a great job taking Rudi out of the game,"
Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said. "He's what
they've built their offense around. I only saw one play where
he had room to run."

Auburn (5-1, 3-1 SEC West) arrived as the SEC's only unbeaten
team as Johnson had rejuvenated a moribund rushing attack that
finished 112th in the country last season. The junior college
transfer had rushed for at least 100 yards in every game this
season, averaging 143 per contest.

But Mississippi State (4-1, 2-1) came in with the best rushing
defense in the country, allowing just 26 yards per game. The
Bulldogs never let Johnson get loose and limited the Tigers to
just 18 yards on the ground as they won their 14th straight home
game.

"We pretty much just went into the game to stop Rudi," Bulldogs
linebacker Conner Stephens said. "Coaches told us to stop him
and the game will go your way."

"They showed us a lot of different looks," Johnson said. "That
is the way they play their defense. They have a very good
defense with a lot of speed. ... Good linebackers, good
defensive line, just a good defense overall."

With its ground game shut down and trailing by 17 points, Auburn
rallied in the fourth quarter and still had a chance to force
overtime. But Ben Leard threw three incompletions from his own
20 and MSU ran out the clock.

"I think we frustrated (Leard) because we played in his face,"
MSU cornerback Fred Smoot said. "We didn't let Rudi get in the
game and that's what happens."

Playing on the road for the first time in nearly a month, Auburn
was held to seven first downs -- none in the first half -- and
164 yards. Mississippi State has beaten Auburn four straight
times.

"This is as bad as it gets," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said.
"We didn't do anything offensively or defensively in the first
half. You can't rush the ball for 18 yards and expect to win on
the road."

The victory gave Mississippi State the tenuous top spot in the
SEC West and the inside track to the conference title game. The
Bulldogs still have five SEC games left, including visits to
Louisiana State, Kentucky and Mississippi.

Miller carried 20 times as the Bulldogs balanced their attack.
Wayne Madkin completed 16-of-27 passes for 197 yards, including
a 41-yard touchdown toss to Julius Griffith in the second
period.

Scott Westerfield missed a 39-yard field goal on the opening
drive but bounced back with a 29-yarder on Mississippi State's
next possession. Madkins completed passes of 15 and 32 yards on
the 49-yard march.

The Tigers punted for the fourth time before the Bulldogs took
over on their 47. Dontae Walker ran 12 yards before Madkin hit
Griffith for a 10-0 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

Miller's 30-yard scamper began a 63-yard drive capped by backup
quarterback Kevin Fant's one-yard TD run that made it 17-0 with
2:16 left in the first half.

"I think Wayne Madkin and Kevin Fant did an excellent job
leading this team today," Miller said. "They are the leaders of
our offense and they showed we can depend on them to make
plays."

Auburn's initial first down came four minutes into the third
period. But with Johnson stalled, the Tigers could not get
anything going and the Bulldogs began to work the clock with
Miller.

"Sometimes it looked like they had 14 men on the field," said
Tuberville. "They took the run away from us. We did not block
anybody (and) they got a lot of penetration. We were going to
try and be patient and run the ball right at them but we just
couldn't get anything going."

"You have to make Rudi Johnson go east to west and you have to
be physical," Sherrill said. "He is very good running north and
south but we did a good job of playing physical football and
making him run east to west. I thought our guys got off their
blocks really well."

Leard, who was 17-of-32 for 146 yards, completed passes of 16
and 25 yards to Tim Carter. His five-yard toss to Clifton
Robinson moved Auburn to the 1, but Johnson was stuffed for a
one-yard loss by Ellis Wyms on third down and the Tigers had to
settle for a 19-yard field goal by Damon Duval with 11:09 to
play.

Auburn got a break when punter Prentiss Cole dropped a snap and
Reggie Torbor rumbled four yards with the recovery to the 1.
Johnson finally banged in on the next play and was within a
score with 8:50 remaining.